The historical collections of the Bach Archive
The Gorke collection
The music collection from the family estate of Manfred Gorke (1897–1956) comprises 700 objects on Saxon-Thuringian music history from the 17th to the 19th century and contains several original manuscripts by J.S. Bach. It has been kept in the Bach Archive Leipzig since 1952 (to the digital copies).
The Scholz collection
The collection of the Nuremberg organist Leonhard Scholz (1720–1798) comprises more than 250 works by J.S. Bach, 70 works by C.P.E. Bach and further works by other composers. After the closure of the Bach Institute Göttingen, it has been in the possession of the Bach Archive since 2008 (to the digital copies).
The Thomana collection
Among the treasures of the Thomana collection are the original parts of J.S. Bach's Choralkantaten-Jahrgang (choral cantatas) 1724/25 – 44 sets of parts of the cantatas are preserved. The collection is kept in the Bach Archive's library on permanent loan from the St Thomas Choir (to the digital copies).
The Bachiana of the Peters collection
The Musikbibliothek Peters (Peters Music Library) was the first public music library in Germany, whose valuable holdings are now in possession of the Public Library in Leipzig. The Bach Archive keeps as a permanent loan the manuscripts and original prints concerning Bach (to the digital copies).
The Breitkopf collection
The Bach Archive keeps some manuscripts from the possession of the publishing house Breitkopf & Härtel in its inventory. The collection includes copies of Bach's works as well as copies of other works by J.S. Bach. It has been on permanent loan to the Bach Archive since 1953 (to the digital copies).
The Kulukundis collection
The private collection of Elias N. Kulukundis includes more than 1,000 manuscripts as well as first and early prints especially from the four Bach sons and is located on permanent loan in the Bach Archive. The most valuable pieces of the collection are available online (to the digital copies).